Ugly story. Two pit bulls who were going to be shipped overseas on a Korean Air flight, got into a “vicious fight” in an air cargo building at Dulles; a cop tried to break up the fight with pepper spray, but it didn’t work and he wound up shooting the dogs.

These dogs were originally in separate kennels – but one chewed his way out, then chewed his way in to the other dog’s container – and the fight was on.

It’s not clear where these dogs were going, or what they were supposed to do when they got there…

Weird doings down in W. Palm Beach…

A Princess gambling “cruise to nowhere” is in port because its new captain doesn’t have a license.

The old captain was fired yesterday, which “set off a near-riot on the deck” according to the Palm Beach Post. In fact, the situation got so bad that Customs and Border folks called in extra security to make sure that the rioters – foreign nationals who live and work on the ship – didn’t get off the vessel, since they are not legally allowed on U.S. soil.

What prompted the pandemonium? According to the workers, pay cuts and poor working conditions – some said their checks have been late and bouncing, though the company denies that. Meanwhile, the company claims the old captain allegedly attempted to organize a strike, which is why a new one was brought in – though you might have thought they’d at least ask him if he was carrying his license with him. Hey, these days we all have to be concerned with our licenses.

Still with me? Well, yesterday’s cruise was cancelled for reasons of rioting; today’s was cancelled for lack of license.

Terribly sad story, from the UK.

A Egyptian woman who was flying from the U.S. to Kuwait was breastfeeding her baby when she fell asleep.

When she woke up, the child seemed lifeless. A doctor onboard worked on the four-week old girl, as the plane was diverted to Heathrow.

The child was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead – she had been accidentally smothered.

A pilot at the controls of a Canada-based Porter Airlines flight out of Halifax lost consciousness during the weekend flight, and the co-pilot took charge and turned back.

Good thing he/she was there.

Anyway, nobody knows what was going on with the pilot, but mercifully, no one seems to think he had this pilot’s problem. ]]> http://standarduprightposition.com/2009/11/17/pilot-blacks-out-but-thats-why-they-have-two-of-them/feed/ 0 http://standarduprightposition.com/2009/11/13/those-zany-northwest-pilots-werent-the-only-ones-goofing-off/ http://standarduprightposition.com/2009/11/13/those-zany-northwest-pilots-werent-the-only-ones-goofing-off/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:39:34 +0000 anne http://standarduprightposition.com/?p=4263

You remember the “laptoppers” – those two Northwest pilots that flew to Wisconsin, when they should have stopped a little earlier, like say, at their scheduled destination in Minnesota? They said they were too busy on their laptops (an excuse that cost them their pilot’s licenses).

Anyway, there weren’t the only ones out to lunch – the head of the FAA says the air traffic controllers are supposed to notify NORAD, the military air defense command, when they’re out of radio contact for ten minutes. How long did they wait? One hour and 9 minutes.

Nope, nothing happened – this time. But as has been mentioned elsewhere (like everywhere), a whole lot changed back on that Tuesday morning in September, 8 years ago…so, guys, just do your jobs, okay? Because you never know…

Did you know? According to India Today, it is NOT a criminal offense for a pilot in India to report to work drunk – which they sometimes do, especially at “festive seasons” including Christmas, New Year’s and Diwali.

This is from the article:

“It [drunk pilots] is an old issue,” said a retired pilot, after Air India had to scramble to replace an inebriated pilot on a Mumbai to New York run. He added that the airlines don’t want to take any harsh or punitive action against them, because “there is a shortage of experienced pilots”.

Uh…any pilots in India out there who would like to respond? I wish you would…

Whoa.

A Boston TV stations is reporting that the FBI has questioned two flight attendants (and maybe more) who were on an American Airlines flight yesterday – the flight where ?a “bomb threat” note was found in one of the aircraft’s lavatories.

Here’s the kicker: again, per Boston’s 7News, those same flight attendants (a man and a woman) were also questioned about a similar incident that occurred two weeks ago.

In both cases, nothing was found – but the incidents resulted in tedious delays for the passengers.

I’m kind of hoping it’s not the crew. I mean, if it is, well…how creepy is that?

Fish, fowl or fun-loving humans, we are all Somebody’s creatures – so the death of 4,000 tropical fish is not to be taken lightly (especially since they were worth about half a million dollars).

Cause of death: unclear. But the 15 hours it took to clear customs in brutal summer heat at the Black Sea resort of Sochi ought to tell you something, I suppose.

The picturesque piscinies (what — you never made up a word?) were heading toward Sochi Discovery World — Russia’s largest oceanarium – when tragedy struck. And it was a tragedy to the oceanarium’s director who called it an “atrocity unseen anywhere else in the world.”

Think I’ll beg to differ on that one…

If you like creepy critter stories, you’ve come to the right blog! See our previous posts about “pests on a plane” which include snakes – ticks – mice – crocodiles – and soap-swilling drunks.

A family flying Southwest from Phoenix to Indianapolis got a surprise during the flight – the dad was stung by a scorpion.

In case you’re wondering, he told ABC News that it felt “like being stung by 30 to 50 bees all at the same time”. Owwww.

Nobody’s sure how these scorpions (there were a few of them) got on the plane, but there are suspicions that they might have arrived via the family’s luggage – they are certainly common enough in Arizona – but nobody really seems to know.

Southwest arranged for medical treatment for Dad on arrival in Indianapolis – and he is reportedly going to be fine. But still – yuck.

Well, would you be happy?

As Gadling tells it, 70 passengers “refused to board their Thomas Cook plane in Mallorca, Spain this week because the airline had asked them to all sit in the back of the plane.”

Essentially, they were to act as ballast – a counterweight, if you will, for all the luggage that was stacked up in the front of the cabin. Why was it stacked there? Because the workers on the ground couldn’t get the rear cargo door open. I guess they lost the manual.

I suppose I would have been disturbed, too – but these folks then paid hundreds of dollars to fly other airlines home. Now that would have given me pause.